Salmonella Enteritidis Cluster 1111TXJEG-1 is Taco Bell

There is a truism today (and perhaps it always has been that way) that if a document exists, even if you stamp “FOR INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY” on it, it will become public eventually. So, despite the silence from the CDC, FDA and eight states, here is the Taco Bell or “Mexican-style fast food restaurant chain, Restaurant Chain A” Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak Power Point:

“I think it just proves the point that it is always better to be transparent,” said Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer who used his blog to lobby vigorously for the release of the name. “Taco Bell could have looked like a hero by coming out and saying that it was a supplier problem and they are going to work hard to make sure it never happens again.”

When I reviewed the data in the slides, I noticed that the controls for Taco Bell were not matched. How was this study done to implicate the restaurant? I also noticed that no food item was implicated. Is it because CDC did not have a menu of the sandwiches served or a study oversight?